Using the RTL2832U on the Macintosh | Ham Radio Science

8/11/2019 Using the RTL2832U on the Macintosh | Ham Radio Science

1/13


2/13

==> Starting TCP server on port: 28888

==> TCP server running on (0.0.0.0!, 28888) in thread: Thread-1

7) Double click on the HDSR application. HDSR (with the ExtIO window) should now appear

8) Connect HDSR to the dongle as if you were on Windows

9) Click on START to activate the receiver

10) You should now be receiving signals

Observations:We tested the software on an older iMac that uses a 3.06 Ghz dual core Intel processor , 4 GB ram, using OSX

10.8.2 with an RTL2832U with a E4000 chipset and an RTL2832U with a R820T chipset. Starting with the

RTL2832U / E4000, the BorIP server starts very quickly in the terminal window. However, the HDSDR program

took several minutes to start and find the RTL2832U stick. Once everything was loaded. HDSDR worked fine

with the RTL2832U / E4000 chip. After a few minutes we did notice a little stuttering in the audio, but several

background processes were running which may have caused this. We didnt check that every single little feature

worked on HDSDR using Alains software. We were just pretty satisfied that at least you could receive ok with

the HDSDR and the RTL2832U stick.

With the RTL2832U / R820T, the software did not work right away. The reason for this appeared to be because

the BorIP server is set by default to an E4000 chip. You have to wait awhile for the everything to time out. When

the ExtIO panel comes up try changing the Device Hint to RTL from the drop-down menu. You may have torestart everything after making this change to get it to work. If nothings happens for awhile. you may also have

to cancel the box that pops up that says its setting up the device and go to the ExtIO screen and have it manually

create the RTL device hint. It works with the R820T, but it is a lot tricker to get working than the E4000. There

also may be a long pause once you hit the start button in HDSDR, but you should eventually hear some audio.

The other issue we ran into is that the Magic Mouse can be way oversensitive to try using HDSDRs scroll

wheel tuning feature. It appears the program could use a little more tweaking to work better with the R820T. If

you are using an E4000 chip you will probably have less problems at this stage. If you are interested in seeing

this developed further, you may want to comment on Alains website.

Thanks to Alain for giving Mac users the ability to easily experiment with RTL2832U sticks.

RTL2832U and HDSDR Running on OSX

23 Responses to Using the RTL2832U on the Macintosh

Davesays:

January 26, 2013 at 4:25 pm

No go with me, after a few seconds HDSDR exits and keeps doing so if I try to relaunch it. I am using a

1.

Using the RTL2832U on the Macintosh | Ham Radio Science http://www.hamradioscience.com/using-the-rtl2832u-on-the-...

2 of 13 17/09/14 13:13


3/13

2009 mac mini with 4GB ram and a 2.26Ghz dual core CPU running OSX 10.8.2

Reply

Dougsays:

March 20, 2014 at 3:44 pm

yea no go on my mac either!

Reply

Carl, WF6Jsays:

February 22, 2013 at 11:28 pm

What is the minimum processor (& speed) needed on a Mac? G5, Intel: coreduo, core2duo, i3 etc. ?

Thanks.

Reply

2.

Michaelsays:

March 19, 2013 at 3:02 am

Works right out of the box, great job.

MacBook Pro , MacOSX 1.8.3 , 2.3GHz Intel Core i5, 8GB

Reply

3.

matt geiselsays:

April 5, 2013 at 10:15 pm

I am really interested in SDR radio. I was able to download and install the software off of your link

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/17744176/HDSDR%20OSX%20v2.51%20RC1.dm

Im now ready to purchase the hardware dongle device. I think Ive found one off of EBay. Here is the

link

http://www.ebay.com/itm/310636373335?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

The name of the device is DVB-T Realtek SDR RTL-SDR Receiver tuner stick RTL2832U & R820T

MCX Input. Im interested in this because of the frequency range which is from 25MHz to 1700MHz.

Will this device work on my MAC?

Thanks for any suggestions and advice you may be able to offer.

God Bless

matt

Reply

4.

Hammersays:

May 9, 2013 at 9:55 am

OS X is NOT a version of Linux! OS X comes from FreeBSD which IS NOT Linux but BSD which is a

totally different operating system.

Reply

KN1CERsays:

5.


3 of 13 17/09/14 13:13


4/13


5/13

Kensays:

July 10, 2013 at 8:26 pm

Works fine with my MacBook Air (2011) with the RTL device hint and a fc0013 / RTL2832U dongle

but NOT with a R820T / RTL2830U .

The borip server says it has found the 2832 (EZcap EzTV) but hasnt implemented the tuner interface.

While borip is probing for tuners it doesnt even say R820T , all the others are mentioned.Is there another version of borip that includes the R820T?

Great work otherwise

rgds

Ken

VK6YKG

Reply

8.

Jabba the Catsays:

July 14, 2013 at 6:34 am

I use a Bonito RadioJet on my iMac, running in Win XP sp3 under VMWare, on OSX 10.8.4 with noproblems. The VMWare being the crucial item giving correct access to the iMacs USB ports and sound

output devices.

Hth.

Reply

9.

Karnsays:

November 28, 2013 at 6:40 am

I try this one, Its working good. Somehow, I feel that the number of freq. show on screen and the one

picked up on my radio isnt the same, but the same sound.

I am using RTL2832U with a E4000 chipset.

Reply

10.

CarloZsays:

December 8, 2013 at 2:01 pm

It works!

11.


5 of 13 17/09/14 13:13


6/13

Thank you very much!

Reply

Rodneysays:

February 5, 2014 at 9:47 pm

I follow the setup instructions OK up to step 6); then this error message appears:

borip_server has encountered a fatal error, and will now terminate.

here is the terminal text that results from trying to launch borip_server:

Last login: Sun Jul 5 18:58:30 on console

cd /Users/RCS/Applications/CrossOver/HDSDR/GNU Radio borip_server.app/Contents/Resources

/Contents/; ./MacOS/borip_server; exit

rodney-steffens-macbook-pro-6:~ RCS$ cd /Users/RCS/Applications/CrossOver/HDSDR/GNU Radio

borip_server.app/Contents/Resources/Contents/; ./MacOS/borip_server; exit

dlopen(/Users/RCS/Applications/CrossOver/HDSDR/GNU Radio borip_server.app/Contents/Resources

/Contents/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/Python, 1): no suitable image found. Did find:

/Users/RCS/Applications/CrossOver/HDSDR/GNU Radio borip_server.app/Contents/Resources

/Contents/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/Python: unknown required load command

0x80000022logout

[Process completed]

Looks to me like some issue with python framework whatever that is.

Suggestions anyone??

Reply

12.

Dougsays:

March 20, 2014 at 1:19 pm

Cant get er to work! on my mac.

13.


6 of 13 17/09/14 13:13


7/13

Reply

Carlozsays:

March 20, 2014 at 1:24 pm

Try http://youtu.be/LrvNi0ffNpU

Reply

Smithf72says:

April 23, 2014 at 4:34 am

I truly appreciate this post. Ive been looking everywhere for this! Thank goodness I found it on Bing.

Youve made my day! Thank you again! akkebddddabddbdd

Reply

14.

ejonessssays:

April 27, 2014 at 7:59 am

i bought http://www.ebay.com/itm/151280105098and after some work to figure out how to get it to comeup and work but i found a problem.

i decided to tune to my local radio at fm 1065 all i get is a tone that varies as i change the frequency to

either side.

is one of the following the case?

1. the model i got is the one listed in above url is the wrong model and should be the one that comes in

larger packaging and dongle is 1 inch square instead of the long 1 by 4 inch rectangle (i placed order for

the smaller dongle).

2. a customs crackdown has banned what frequencies we are allowed to tune into (sort of why policescanners are not allowed to tune into cell phone frequencies).

3. digital dongles no longer support analog and many fm and other radios did not upgrade to digital.

4. defective unit (i ordered new one because just the shipping alone would void out much of the return + i

felt a burr on the end as if the unit had been opened (possible to get picture of the board) so i dont know if

they damaged it getting the picture).

*** Forbidden. HTTP links blacklisted. Request number a href=http://cleantalk.org

/show_request?request_id=1e04c1ac50630182e2517b3445f2aacc

rel=nofollow1e04c1ac50630182e2517b3445f2aacc/a. Antispam service cleantalk.org. ***

Reply

15.

ejonessssays:

April 27, 2014 at 9:31 pm

i was not trying to spam i was just pointing to an item.

how should i post an item in the future

Reply

16.

Carlos Pijaksays:

May 15, 2014 at 6:31 am

17.


7 of 13 17/09/14 13:13


8/13

You provide wrong information here. OSX is not a version of Linux. OSX is based on BSD Unix.

Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Name

Email

Website

Comment

You may use these HTML tags and attributes:

Post Comment

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

Updates via Email

Enter your email address:

Subscribe

Delivered by FeedBurner

Ham It Up Case


8 of 13 17/09/14 13:13


9/13

$23.95

Extruded

Aluminum...

Shop now

RTL 2832U / R820T

NooElec NESDR MiniUSB RTL-SDR & ADS...

NooElec Inc.

Best Price $21.95or Buy New $23.95

Privacy Information

HF for RTL SDR!

Ham It Up v1.2 - NooElecRF Upconver...

NooElec/Opendous

Best Price $53.95or Buy New $54.95

Privacy Information


9 of 13 17/09/14 13:13


10/13

R$ 89,90


10 of 13 17/09/14 13:13


11/13

Recent

Comments

Archives

The mcHF QRP Transceiver Project

8:38 am By HRS Staff

When it comes to a low cost SDR QRP Transceiver W0MKA has the right idea. The mcHF QRP

transceiver is a project that W0MKA has been Read More

The Three Best Low Cost SDR Radios You Can Buy Today

1:48 pm By HRS Staff

If you are thinking about getting involved with SDR radio or just want to add a new one to you

shack, here are what we consider Read More

Ham Radio Deluxe Now Supports Alinco DX-SR9


R$ 340


11 of 13 17/09/14 13:13


12/13

Gold-Plated BNC Male to SMA M

Gino

$6.34

SMA Male to BNC Female Plug A

Gino

$5.19

"SMA" to "PL-259" Adapter Cable

ProComm

$11.95

Silver Tone Plated F Female to

Gino$2.07

The latest version of Ham Radio Deluxe as added CAT support for the DX-SR9 as well as the

DX-SR8. This will allow HRD to control such Read More

NooElec Aluminum Extruded Case for the Ham It Up HF Converter

9:45 am By HRS StaffOverview Looking for a place to put your Ham It Up Converter? NewElec is now selling a very nice

aluminum extruded case to fit the Ham Read More

Alinco DX-SR9 Hybrid SDR Transceiver Review


Introduction If Alincos DX-R8 receiver and the DX-SR8 had a child, it would be the DX-SR9. The

DX-SR9 inherits the brains of the DX-R8 and the Read More

Facebook

RTL2832U Connectors

Ham Radio Science

607 people like Ham Radio Science.

Facebook social plugin

LikeLike


12 of 13 17/09/14 13:13


13/13

Documents

Using the RTL2832U on the Macintosh | Ham Radio Science